Specifications:L-series professional f/1.4 wide-angle lens with an aspherical lens element to correct aberrations. The floating system enables high picture quality to be obtained over the entire focusing range. Autofocusing is quick and quiet with rear focusing and ring USM. Full-time manual focusing is also possible.

Without a doubt my favourite L lens and i use this with all 3 bodies (5D,50D,1D MK iii) and always gives excellent pictures.
Colour and contrast is the best of any of the L's i have. Very easy to use when compared to the 50mm 1.2 and 85mm 1.2. This would be the last lense that i would sell and the first to replace if it went walkies. I cannot recommend it enough.
MK ii version? they will have their work cut out to do better i think.

Sep 17, 2009

HaringOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Sep 11, 2009Location: United StatesPosts: 2

Review Date: Sep 17, 2009

Recommend? |
Price paid: Not Indicated

Pros:

Color, sharpness, ....

Cons:

Price

UPDATE! I just had a wedding session over the weekend. I totally covered the whole range with the 35L and 85L (85L was placed onto a 40D to cover the longer range). I also have a 17 40L and a 28 70L. I am going to out the 28 70 on ebay this week! the 35L is an amazing lens!
There are a couple of excellent shots on my site. http://www.haringphotography.com
Look for the blond girl and the guy on the beach in the engagement session. The wide lens was the 35L but the other pictures were created with the 85L 1.2…:):):)
I hope it helps.

Sep 17, 2009

HaringOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Sep 11, 2009Location: United StatesPosts: 2

Review Date: Sep 11, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

BEST PRIME from Canon so simple

Cons:

price?

I use this along with a 85L for low light photography. Before I had the 24mmL. This is MUCH better. Image sharpness and contrast is superb. Blurr is great. Colors are amazing. It is expensive but you just buy it and try to forget its price...

Sep 11, 2009

swnowOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jul 28, 2009Location: United StatesPosts: 260

Review Date: Sep 8, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

If you plan to keep only 1 lens of Canon, this is the One to keep. This lens is even better than Leica.

Cons:

Sep 8, 2009

GeneOOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jul 10, 2003Location: United StatesPosts: 9098

Review Date: Aug 19, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,275.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Fast aperture, Sharpness very good wide open as well as overall color, contrast

Cons:

Vignetting even on 1.25x crop, but livable. Cost. QA

I bought this lens to fill a FL void. I like it very much. Great color, contrast and sharpness.

Vignetting is livable (and I even like the effect, but of course I would rather have none and add the effect in PP than the other way around). But to be expected at this aperture and focal length,

It was off by 12 MA clicks out of the box. Works fine adjusted on my 1D3, but unusable on 1D Mk2n. Need to send it in, shouldn't have to have.

I thought a great deal before buying this focal length. I was torn between a 50mmL or an 85mmL, but after seeing the type of shots this lens can deliver I opted for the 35mm. I figured that if I was desperate for the 85 or 50 F/L, Canon had two non L versions that are highly thought of - ones I could afford. So, I went for the 35, because there is nothing else like it. I have had this lens for a month. At first, I thought I had bought a dud. I couldn't focus it. I fiddled, did some micro-adjustment, practiced with it and, finally, I think I understand it.

It's not an easy lens to use, but it is worth mastering. It's a bit slower than my zooms (to focus) but it likes the dark. It's a 100% sharper at f2, but there is still a limited place for f1.4. It's bokeh is magic, it's contrast rich and it's the nearest I have come across that is close to the human eye. This, alone, makes it a lens worth taking the time to learn and savour. I am now uncomfortable when it's NOT on the camera I'm holding.

Aug 6, 2009

sunpoleOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jan 3, 2009Location: United StatesPosts: 320

Review Date: Jul 20, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,250.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Very Fast + very sharp, AF is accurate. Compact size, fits well on my 5D2. Very useful focal length

Cons:

Plastic, build can be more solid

The most useful prime I have. I couple 35L and 135L, the really work wonders. Light weight set up and not compromising any IQ. Tack sharp and fast. I sold my 24L after getting this lens, IMO this is a much more useful lense in many situations.

Jul 20, 2009

dclement7OfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Mar 12, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 63

Review Date: Jun 20, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,230.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

I have been reading reviews of this lens for almost two years now and finally decided to invest the money for my own lens. I have been shooting with it for a couple of weeks now and we are still getting used to one another :) Wide Open the DOF is very shallow and if you do not put your subject at the correct distance, it is easy to get a blurred subject. This just takes practice and when done correct, the subject will be very sharp with a very nice blurred background.
The images have sort of a 3D look to them as if the subject could step right out of the photo. None of my other L-Series lens have this attribute. The lens is extremely sharp wide open and stepped all the way down. The lens produces a very nice bokeh when wide open which is pleasing to the eye. I just love shooting with this lens, and hate when I have to take it off the camera. I have read some reviews complaining of poor build quality, but my copy is solid. Their are no squeaks, rattles or anything that feels flimsy. Other than not being weather sealed, this lens is just about perfect.

Cons:

I have nothing bad to say about this lens.

Jun 20, 2009

9callawayOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Apr 15, 2009Location: United StatesPosts: 25

Review Date: Apr 15, 2009

Recommend? no |
Price paid: $1,299.00
| Rating: 8

Pros:

small, light weight (compares to my zoom lenses), high contrast

Cons:

35mm FL is not fit into my style of shooting, resolution @ f/1.4 is not as high as my 24-70mm and 28-70mm f/2.8 lens.

The results show Canon 24-70mm and 28-70mm f/2.8 lenses are equally good in resolution measurement. Surprisingly, EF 35 f/1.4 prime lens is not as good as the zoom lenses in resolution.

However, EF 35 f/1.4 got the highest contrast score among the three.

I sold the EF 35 f/1.4 the next day on eBay.

Apr 15, 2009

trajanOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Dec 3, 2008Location: United StatesPosts: 143

Review Date: Apr 1, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,300.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

sharp at all distances and apertures, good contrast and colors, high resolution, small and not intrusive, very fast focusing, flare well controlled, low distortion

Cons:

bokeh a bit too busy/harsh,
build quality ok, but still plastic, and not comparable to Zeiss or others,
small chromatic aberrations may appear at high aperture

I have lots of top quality lenses (such as EF 85L mk2, EF 135L, Voigtlander 125mm apo macro, Sigma 50mm 1.4, etc), and this is one of my most useful lenses. Note, I didn't say favorite, but useful. The thing is that this is a lens for reporters, because it captures more than the standard 50mm. It's very sharp, with high resolution at all apertures, with good colors and very fast focus. Where it is a bit short is at the bokeh. I like for most of my photos to have a smooth bokeh. This lens doesn't quite deliver this. However, if I had to have only 1 lens, this would be it! It's just very good for most of my photos. Also, very even light (unnoticeable vignetting). Chromatic aberrations can be seen at high aperture.

Here are some photos taken with the 35L, on full framed Canon 5d mk2 and on cropped Canon d40.

Bottom line: this lens is close to perfection for most use cases. I'm never selling mine. Zeiss 35mm f/2.0 macro is supposed to be slightly better in IQ, but you lose f/1.4 and AF.

Apr 1, 2009

Jman13OfflineBuy and Sell: On

Registered: May 1, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 13276

Review Date: Feb 21, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,206.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Sharp at all apertures, very nice bokeh, fast and accurate AF, beautiful colors and skin tones, high build quality.

Cons:

Umm...slightly larger than you'd expect from a 35mm?

I've had this lens for about two weeks now, and it has quickly become my favorite lens (other lenses include the 85 f/1.2L, 70-200 f/4L IS, 17-40 f/4L and Sigma 150 f/2.8). Mine is sharp straight from f/1.4, and blisteringly sharp by f/1.8. Colors are beautiful and skin tones are perhaps the best and smoothest of any lens I own. The contrast curve is near perfect...good darks, nice lights, but not too steep a curve between them, allowing for beautiful gradation of middle tones.

AF is fast and accurate (as to be expected), and the build is very solid. The outer plastic shell may look a bit odd to those first picking it up, but the tolerances are VERY tight, and the lens is very, very solid.

Bokeh is very even, providing evenly illuminated specular highlights and smooth blurring in most situations. It can get somewhat busy if you're not super close to something, but I think it's more the larger background captured vs most large aperture lenses due to the FL. Looking at the specular highlights, it's excellent.

Honestly, there's really nothing to complain about. Wide open performance is excellent, though if you're up close, the DOF is extremely thin, but we all know that. The lens is quite pricey, but it does its job extremely well.

On a FF camera this lens is as close to perfect as possible for a general purpose lens.

Feb 19, 2009

stargazer78OfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jan 18, 2009Location: United StatesPosts: 385

Review Date: Jan 19, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,100.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Cons:

Negatives:

-- This is an old design where lens barrel is only plastic
-- One of the few remaining "L" lenses that is not weather sealed
-- Lens is heavier (580g) and bigger than a prime lens should be
-- Bokeh quality is decent, but severely overrated by reputation

Positives:

-- Not many lens sharper than this @ f/1.4
-- Autofocus is quick and responsive
-- At $1100 USD, it's relatively cheap compared to its peers
-- Arguably the most versatile low light lens available in EF mount
-- Contrast and color rendition are just about perfect

I thought I would love this lens. I wanted to love this lens. I didn't like it much at all. Optically it was very good - sharp wide open, with good bokeh, though CA was pretty bad and mine didn't seem sharp at longer focusing distances. Reports of copy variation make it seem like this is an inconsistent lens.

Build quality is a bit dated since this is a 1993 lens design. Focus ring has some play, and it feels cheaper than other Ls I have (17-40, 85L, 200L, 400L).

At the end of the day I didn't like the focal length on my 5D. That was the deciding factor for my getting rid of it. If you like the focal length, it's still a great lens.

Jan 15, 2009

karol lasiaOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Dec 18, 2006Location: N/APosts: 29

Review Date: Jan 10, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

amazing colors, crisp, perfect focal length on a FF body

Cons:

none so far

a bit pricey perhaps, but well worth it in the end. i use this lens 95% of the time and doubt i'll ever need anything else between the 20 and 50mm range. best lens i've ever used.

Jan 10, 2009

AntonyOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jun 5, 2005Location: AustraliaPosts: 666

Review Date: Jan 8, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Great images, good build quality.

Cons:

No weather seal

Great lens, I am shooting more and more of my weddings with this lens. Well worth the price.